Bryan Johnson: The Biohacker Who Wants to Reverse Aging

Bryan Johnson is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and biohacker who is on a mission to reverse aging and extend human lifespan. He is the founder of Kernel, a company that develops brain-computer interfaces, and OS Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in companies that aim to radically improve humanity. He is also the creator of Project Blueprint, a personal experiment that involves measuring and optimizing all 70+ organs of his body to reduce his biological age, for which it’s rumoured he spends $2 million a year on.

Bryan has founded and sold several successful companies, such as Braintree, an online payment platform that was acquired by PayPal for $800 million in 2013. He also invested in SpaceX, Tesla, and Planetary Resources, among other visionary ventures.

In 2016, Johnson launched Kernel, a company that develops brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), which are devices that can record, stimulate, or modulate brain activity. Kernel’s mission is to “unlock the power of the human mind” by creating tools that can enhance cognition, memory, learning, and creativity.

Johnson has also been pursuing a personal project called Blueprint since 2019. Blueprint is a rigorous regimen that involves taking dozens of pills daily, having a team of over 30 doctors monitoring his bodily functions, following a strict diet of the same daily foods and only 1,977 calories per day, doing hour-long daily workouts, and adhering to a sleep routine that includes wearing blue-light-blocking glasses for two hours before bed.

The goal of Blueprint is to measure all 70+ organs of Johnson’s body and then maximally reverse the quantified biological age of each. Johnson claims that he has achieved remarkable results from Blueprint, such as:

• Slowing his pace of aging by equivalent 31 years
• Reducing his body inflammation by 66% below the average 10-year-old
• Increasing his VO2 max (a measure of aerobic fitness) to the top 1.5% of 18-year-olds
• Reversing his oral age (pocket depth) by 17 years in 120 days
• Reducing his grey hair age by 31 years
• Improving his heart rate variability (HRV) by 12 years
• Increasing his leg press single rep max to 800 lbs and bench press single rep max to 240 lbs

What is Project Blueprint?

Project Blueprint is the name given to the regime Bryan Johnson follows meticulously in his pursuit of youth. A team of more than 30 doctors and health experts, headed by 29-year-old regenerative medicine physician Oliver Zolman, measure all 70+ organs of Johnson’s body and then maximally reverse the quantified biological age of each.

Project Blueprint involves:

• Taking hundreds of measurements of Johnson’s body’s biological processes, such as blood biomarkers, organ ages, DNA methylation, telomere length, microbiome diversity, and more
• Using an algorithm called Blueprint that generates personalized dietary and lifestyle recommendations based on Johnson’s genetic profile and biomarker data
• Following a strict regimen that includes dozens of pills daily, a team of over 30 doctors monitoring Johnson’s bodily functions, a diet of the same daily foods and only 1,977 calories per day, hour-long daily workouts, and a sleep routine that includes wearing blue-light-blocking glasses for two hours before bed
• Experimenting with various interventions that have scientific evidence to reverse aging, such as gene therapy, stem cell therapy, peptide therapy, hormone therapy, senolytic therapy, and more
• Documenting and sharing his progress and results publicly on his website and social media platforms

What are the results of Project Blueprint?

According to Johnson’s website, he has achieved some remarkable results from Project Blueprint. Some of his achievements include:

• Slowing his pace of aging by equivalent 31 years
• Accumulating aging damage slower than 88% of 18 year olds
• Reducing his body inflammation by 66% below the average 10 year old
• Increasing his VO2 max (a measure of aerobic fitness) to 58.7 mL/ (kg·min), which is in the top 1.5% of 18 year olds
• Having perfect liver fat (1.36%, top 10%), iron levels, and stiffness (measured by MRI)
• Having ideal whole body muscle and fat (measured by MRI)
• Having over 50 optimal clinical outcome biomarkers
• Having over 100 markers younger than his chronological age
• Reversing his oral age (pocket depth) by 17 years in 120 days
• Reversing his grey hair age by 31 years (80% reduction in grey hair)
• Reversing his alpha klotho biological age by 21 years in 5 months
• Reducing his brain white matter hyperintensities (a sign of brain aging) by 50% (measured by MRI)
• Increasing his heart rate variability (a measure of stress resilience) by 12 years
• Increasing his free testosterone index (a measure of sexual health) by 20 years

Johnson claims that his chronological age is 44, but his measured biological age is 36. He also claims that he has reached the first stage of aging escape velocity, where his life expectancy increases faster than passed time.

What is the importance of Bryan Johnson and what he’s doing?

Bryan Johnson is one of the most prominent and influential biohackers in the world. He is not only investing in companies that are developing breakthrough technologies for human enhancement or augmentation, but he is also testing them on himself and sharing his results with the public. He is pushing the boundaries of what is possible for human biology and challenging the status quo of aging.

Johnson’s importance lies in:

• Inspiring and educating others about biohacking and anti-aging
• Providing valuable data and feedback for researchers and innovators
• Demonstrating the potential benefits and risks of biohacking interventions
• Raising awareness and sparking debate about the ethical and social implications of biohacking

Johnson’s ultimate goal is to enable everyone to have access to biohacking tools and resources that can help them improve their health and well-being. He believes that biohacking is a form of self-expression and empowerment that can lead to a better future for humanity.

Who are some other relevant biohackers?

Bryan Johnson is not the only biohacker who is experimenting with anti-aging interventions. There are many other biohackers who are trying different methods to slow down or reverse aging. Some examples are: